Every LinkedIn connection request template here is grouped by how you know the person, and each one fits the note limit LinkedIn actually documents.

What a LinkedIn connection request template is

A LinkedIn connection request template is a reusable shape for the note that travels with an invitation. It holds a greeting, the context you share with the person, one reason you are writing now, and your name. The placeholders are the parts you replace.

It is not a script. The only part of a connection note that earns an acceptance is the part that could not have been sent to anyone else, and that part changes with every recipient. Everything around it can stay the same.

This page is the note library. The button, the invitation limits, withdrawals and the rest of the mechanics live in our guide on how to connect on LinkedIn. Here the subject is the writing: 20 notes, grouped by how you already know the person.

What LinkedIn documents about the note

Two numbers decide the shape of every template below, and only one of them is stated consistently. Both come from LinkedIn Help pages read for this page, not from a summary of them.

The 200 character figure is the one to design templates around, and it is stricter than most advice online, which still quotes 300. LinkedIn Premium removes the monthly cap on notes but not the invitation limits themselves.

The connect message anatomy: four parts, 200 characters

A connect message that fits the documented limit has room for four things and nothing more. Every template on this page is built from the same four, which is why they can be swapped between groups.

That leaves roughly 30 characters of slack for punctuation and a longer name. It also explains what has to go: your job title, your company boilerplate, the link, the calendar invitation and the second sentence about yourself.

The reason for writing is the part most people get wrong. In a note, the only honest reason is the connection. Anything you actually want comes later, in the first message after they accept.

What makes a connection note get accepted

Acceptance is a two second decision made on your photo, your headline and one line of text. Nothing on this page beats a profile that shows what you do, which is why LinkedIn networking starts with your own page rather than with a template.

• One checkable detail. A session name, a post claim, a mutual connection, a date. Something the recipient can verify in a second.
• A reason that is about them. Written from their side, not from your pipeline or your job search.
• No ask. No meeting, no link, no attachment, no question that needs a paragraph to answer.
• Plain words. No flattery about an impressive profile and no sentence you would not say out loud.
• Recent timing. Sent while the event, the post or the meeting is still in their memory.
• A profile that matches. If your headline contradicts the note, the note loses.

The library: 20 notes grouped by relationship

The 20 notes below were written for this page. They are grouped by how you already know the person, because that is the part of the note that has to change and the part that decides whether it works.

Each block gives a label, the placeholders to replace, and a note on when that template backfires. Read the backfire note first. It is usually the reason a note that works for one sender fails for another.

• Replace every placeholder. A stray pair of braces in a sent invitation is the clearest sign of a merge there is.
• Rewrite the first clause. The shared context is the only part that proves this went to one person.
• Check the counter. Real names and company names change the length, in both directions.

Notes for someone you met at an event

An event note is the easiest one to get accepted and the easiest one to waste. The recipient met dozens of people, so the work is naming the moment rather than the event. Send it within a few days, while the room is still recent.

1. Same session at a conference

Hi {{firstName}}, we were both in the {{sessionName}} session today. Your question about {{topic}} was the one I came to ask. Connecting to carry it on. {{senderName}}

2. You spoke at the stand or in the queue

Hi {{firstName}}, we talked by the {{place}} at {{eventName}} about {{topic}}. You said {{detail}} and I have been chewing on it since. {{senderName}}

3. You were at the event but never spoke

Hi {{firstName}}, I was at {{eventName}} and never got across the room to you. Your point about {{topic}} is the one people kept repeating after. {{senderName}}

The same three shapes work for a webinar or a LinkedIn Event, where the attendee list is visible to everyone who registered and the moment to name is a question in the chat.

Notes when you have a mutual connection

A shared name does more work than any other opening, which is why it is the one most often faked. Use it only when the mutual connection would recognize you, because the careful recipients check. Our entry on what a mutual connection means covers what the recipient sees on their side.

4. A named referral

Hi {{firstName}}, {{mutualName}} suggested I say hello: we are both working on {{topic}} from opposite sides. No ask attached, just want to be in touch. {{senderName}}

5. Shared connections you noticed

Hi {{firstName}}, we share a lot of connections, {{mutualName}} among them, and most of them work on {{topic}}. That is usually a sign the network is right. {{senderName}}

6. Before you ask for an introduction

Hi {{firstName}}, {{mutualName}} mentioned you own {{area}} at {{companyName}}. Before I ask them for a proper introduction, I would rather be a real name here. {{senderName}}

Notes after reading their content

Content notes are the most common and the most automated, so the bar is the specific claim. Name the argument, not the piece. Nothing marks a bot faster than praise that would fit under any post on the platform.

7. After a post

Hi {{firstName}}, your post on {{topic}} argued that {{claim}}, which is the opposite of what my team assumed. Connecting to see where you take it next. {{senderName}}

8. After a newsletter or an article

Hi {{firstName}}, I have read {{newsletterName}} since {{month}}, and the issue on {{topic}} changed how we run {{process}} here. Connecting to keep reading. {{senderName}}

9. From a comment thread

Hi {{firstName}}, we ended up disagreeing politely under {{authorName}}'s post about {{topic}} last week. Rather keep that going here than in a comment box. {{senderName}}

Notes for someone in your industry you have never met

This is the group with no shared context to borrow, which makes it the hardest and the most useful to get right. A shared job title is not a reason. A shared problem is. Everyone here is a 2nd or 3rd degree connection, so the note carries the whole introduction.

10. Same role, different company

Hi {{firstName}}, we do the same job in {{industry}}, you at {{companyName}} and me at {{myCompany}}. Short of peers to compare notes with. Connecting for that. {{senderName}}

11. Same market or city

Hi {{firstName}}, fellow {{industry}} person in {{city}}. Everyone I meet here brings up {{topic}} and nobody has solved it yet. Happy to trade notes. {{senderName}}

12. The honest cold note

Hi {{firstName}}, we have not met. I spend my week on {{problem}} and you are one of the few people writing about it seriously. Connecting to read more. {{senderName}}

Notes after a meeting or a call

After a real conversation the invitation is administrative, so the note can be shorter than anywhere else. Its job is to keep the thread findable and to repeat what you promised. Send it the same day, and keep anything longer for the follow-up email.

13. After a first call

Hi {{firstName}}, good to talk about {{topic}} today. I will send {{promisedThing}} by {{day}}. Connecting so the follow-up is easy to find. {{senderName}}

14. After an interview

Hi {{firstName}}, thank you for the conversation about the {{roleName}} role today, and for the part about {{topic}}. Whatever comes of it, glad to stay in touch. {{senderName}}

15. After a group meeting with a partner or client

Hi {{firstName}}, we were both on the {{meetingName}} call this morning. You own {{area}}, which is where most of my questions will land. Connecting now. {{senderName}}

Notes for recruiters, candidates and job seekers

Recruiting notes fail on timing more than on wording. Say where you are in the process, or say plainly that there is no process yet. A profile marked as actively recruiting tells you which of the three below applies.

16. To a recruiter, before you need one

Hi {{firstName}}, you place {{roleName}} people in {{industry}} and I have {{years}} years of it. Nothing urgent, I would rather be in your network early. {{senderName}}

17. To a recruiter after you applied

Hi {{firstName}}, I applied for the {{roleName}} role at {{companyName}} on {{day}}. Connecting in case a face helps, and happy to answer anything early. {{senderName}}

18. From a recruiter to a candidate

Hi {{firstName}}, I hire {{roleName}} people at {{companyName}} and your work on {{topic}} is why I am writing. No role attached today, connecting for when there is. {{senderName}}

Notes for alumni and former colleagues

Shared history gets the note read and rarely gets it accepted on its own. The second half has to say what the two of you have in common now, years after the overlap ended.

19. Alumni of the same school

Hi {{firstName}}, {{schoolName}} {{gradYear}} here, now doing {{topic}} at {{myCompany}}. Keeping up with the alumni who ended up in the same field. {{senderName}}

20. A former colleague you lost touch with

Hi {{firstName}}, we overlapped at {{formerCompany}} on {{team}}. I saw you moved into {{area}} and would like to hear how that went. {{senderName}}

Sending a connection request with no note

Sending with no note is allowed, it is how most invitations between colleagues travel, and it does not count against the monthly allowance for personalized invitations. It is also the request most likely to sit pending forever.

When the allowance runs out, following the person and commenting on their work for a few weeks is the alternative LinkedIn itself names, alongside groups and InMail. Requests that pile up unanswered are one of the two things LinkedIn Help says triggers an invitation restriction.

Connection request notes, LinkedIn messages and InMail

Three kinds of message travel on LinkedIn, and only one is capped at 200 characters. Most templates that read as oddly clipped were written for a note. Most that never arrive were written as LinkedIn messages and pasted into a connection request.

LinkedIn Help names following, groups and InMail as the alternatives to inviting someone you do not know. A specific industry question sent as an InMail often does more than the same connection request sent three times.

Keep the two libraries apart. Connection request templates are built around one shared detail and a free monthly allowance. Message templates have room for context, a link and a real question, which is why one makes a poor substitute for the other.

Making a template fit inside 200 characters

Every note above fits the documented limit as written, but placeholders are not the same length as the words that replace them. A short first name buys you characters; a long company name spends them.

1. Paste the note into the compose box and watch the counter, not your text editor.
2. Cut your job title first. It is already in your headline, one line above the note.
3. Cut adverbs and hedges: really, just, quickly, I was wondering whether.
4. Turn a question into a statement, since the note is not the place for the ask anyway.
5. Drop the second clause about yourself. One is enough at this length.
6. If it still does not fit, shorten the shared context last. That clause is the one doing the work.

Two more mechanical points from LinkedIn Help. A primary email address is required before your account can send invitations at all, and invitations sent from People you may know in the mobile app cannot carry a note, so send those from the profile instead.

How to turn a template into a note you can send

1. Name the relationship before you pick a template

   Write down in one line how you know this person: an event, a mutual connection, their content, your industry, a meeting, a recruiting conversation, or a school. That line decides which group above you use.

2. Verify the detail you plan to quote

   Open the post, the event page or the profile and check the wording, the date and the spelling of the name. A detail that is close but wrong proves the note came from a list.

3. Fill every placeholder with something specific

   Replace each placeholder with a fact only this person could recognize. If a slot cannot be filled truthfully, delete that clause instead of guessing at it.

4. Cut the note to the counter, not to your draft

   LinkedIn Help documents 200 characters. Check the note in our LinkedIn character counter or read the counter in the compose box, remove your job title first, then any adverb, then the second sentence about yourself.

5. Take the ask out

   A connection note asks for one thing: the connection. Move the meeting request, the link and the attachment to the message you send after they accept.

6. Send it once and log which template went out

   Send the invitation, note the group you used, and leave it alone. Reminders are automatic, and a second invitation to the same person is not possible while the first is pending.

The first message after they accept

The note gets you the connection. The message afterward decides whether the connection was worth anything, and it is where most template libraries stop being useful.

Continue the reason from the note, offer one useful thing, ask one question that can be answered in a line. A thank-you with a pitch stapled to it is the fastest route to being removed, and removals are silent.

If the acceptance never comes, leave it. You can see what is outstanding on the pending invitations screen, and a large pile there is a signal to change the notes rather than to send more of them.

Using templates at volume without getting restricted

Templates exist so that a team can send more good notes, not so that one note can go to more people. LinkedIn Help is direct about where the line is.

• Two triggers for a restriction. Many invitations in a short time, and many invitations ignored, left pending or marked as spam.
• Suspected automation. An excessive number of invitations with a suspected automation tool can suspend or restrict the account, and repeated suspensions can end it.
• Most restrictions lift in a week. Support cannot shorten them or explain them, and withdrawing pending invitations does not remove one.
• Withdrawals cost three weeks. After withdrawing, you cannot invite the same member again for up to three weeks.
• The ceiling is real. A maximum of 30,000 1st-degree connections, and quality connections are what LinkedIn recommends keeping.

Read the connection limit entry before planning volume, and treat LinkedIn automation tools as a risk to the account rather than a way around the note limit. Ignored invitations are the expensive kind, because they cost you the ability to send more.

Mistakes that get a connection note ignored

• Pitching in the note, or attaching a calendar link to an invitation.
• Praising an impressive profile, which is the one line every automated tool produces.
• Claiming a referral the named person never gave.
• Quoting a post the sender clearly did not read past the first line.
• Writing to 300 characters and letting the box cut the ending off.
• Sending the same industry note to everyone with the same job title.
• Following up the acceptance within minutes with a pitch.
• Leaving a placeholder in the sent note.
• Connecting with everyone from one meeting in the same hour.

How to tell whether your templates work

Compare groups against each other on your own account. Every figure that matters here is one you can count yourself.

The skeleton behind all 20 notes

Strip any note on this page and the same four slots remain. Start here when your situation is not one of the seven groups, and keep the first slot honest.

Hi {{firstName}}, {{sharedContext}}. {{reasonNow}}, so I am connecting rather than pitching. {{senderName}}

Frequently asked questions